COVID-19 and Vulnerable Children Well-Being: Interview with Left-Behind Children in Rural China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Literature Review
1.1.1. Psychological Challenges of LBC
1.1.2. Academic Challenges of LBC
1.2. Parent-Child Relationship and Attachment among LBCs
1.3. Grandparent Caregiving and LBC
1.4. LBC and COVID-19 in China
2. Method
2.1. Participants
2.2. Data-Gathering Instrument
2.3. Data Analysis Procedures
2.4. Research Findings
2.4.1. COVID-19 Outbreak and the Psychological State of LBCs
2.4.2. LBC’s View of COVID
2.4.3. LBCs’ View of Their Parents
2.4.4. COVID-19 and LBC Academic Adjustment
2.4.5. LBC and Their Legal Guardian’s Caregiving
2.4.6. LBCs’ Parental Attachment during COVID-19
3. Discussion
3.1. Psychological Adjustment of LBC
3.2. Academic Adjustment of LBC
3.3. Parental Attachment and LBC during COVID-19
4. Conclusions
Implications and Limitations
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Appendix A.1. Interview Outlines
- Which grade level are you?
- What is your current age?
- What is the total number of family members living with you at home?
- Do you have a brother or sister? If there is, Tell me about their age and grade level.
- With whom are you living at home now?
- Who is looking after you? In terms of food preparation, cleaning, school work, any other needs? The person who looks after you, do they have another job to do?… like agriculture, selling… … What kind of house chores are you expected to do at home?
- Where were your migrant parents when the pandemic started? Did they try to keep in touch with you so that you and your family be protected from COVID-19? What were they advising?
- Which parent of yours has migrated to the city? How long has it been? What is their educational level? What is their occupation status? How often do they visit you before and after COVID-19 per year? Is there any change in the frequency of visits after the pandemic?
- How do you spend with your migrant parents when they come back for a visit?
- Why do you think your parents migrated to the city? Do you think their migration changes your lifestyle and fulfilled household needs? If it changes, what kind of change?
- What kind of school work challenges did you face during the COVID-19 time compared to your classmates living with their parents?
- What kind of advantage do you get from the pandemic time compared to your classmates who live with your parents?
- What attachment or relationship changes have you observed between you and your migrant parents during the pandemic?
- Who do you think is involved in your school work at home, your migrant parents or a family member? How do they help you?
- Do you think you would perform better in your academics’ performance than your classmates if your migrant parents lived with you? Why?
- How did you see your classmates living with both parents in their home, happiness, and success in their academics?
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Respondent | Gender | Age | Grade Level | Parent Migrant Duration | Caretaker of LBC during COVID-19 | LBC Phrases for COVID-19 | LBCs and Migrant Parents’ Relationships during COVID-19 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R1 | Male | 11 | 4 | 10 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R2 | Male | 15 | 8 | 7 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R3 | Female | 13 | 7 | No idea | GP | Not afraid | Rare communication |
R4 | Male | 14 | 7 | 6 years | GP | Not afraid | Rare communication |
R5 | Male | 14 | 7 | 3 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R6 | Female | 14 | 7 | 10 years | GP | Not afraid | Rare communication |
R7 | Female | 13 | 7 | 4 years | GP | Not afraid | Weekly communication |
R8 | Female | 12 | 6 | 3 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R9 | Female | 12 | 6 | 2 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R10 | Female | 12 | 6 | 2 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R11 | Female | 10 | 4 | 6 years | GP | Not afraid | Twice or three times call in a week |
R12 | Male | 11 | 5 | 2 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R13 | Male | 12 | 5 | 5 years | GP | Not afraid | Once a week and sometimes after two weeks |
R14 | Male | 10 | 4 | 3 years | GP | Not afraid | Call frequently mostly the father, not the mother she is busy she calls on Sunday |
R15 | Female | 10 | 4 | No idea | GP | Not afraid | uncertain very little once in a week |
R16 | Female | 10 | 4 | 2 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R17 | Male | 11 | 4 | 5 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R18 | Female | 14 | 7 | 10 years | ST | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R19 | Male | 14 | 8 | 3 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R20 | Male | 14 | 7 | 8 years | GP | Not afraid | Video/audio communication once a day |
R21 | Female | 13 | 7 | 2 years | GP | Not afraid | Weekly communication |
R22 | Male | 15 | 8 | 10 years | GP | Not afraid | Weekly communication |
Respondent | Siblings | Class Level | LBCs’ Household Activities | LBCs’ Feelings during COVID |
---|---|---|---|---|
R2 | No | 6 | Laundering and cleaning | Unhappy and boring |
R4 | 2 sis | 8 | Laundering and helping grandparents in farm work | Depressing and unhappy |
R7 | 2 bro | 6 | Kitchen work and cleaning | Sad |
R22 | 1 bro | 7 | Clean up the house and farm work | Sorrowful |
R8 | 1 bro | 6 | Domestic obligations and farm work | Boring and stressful |
R10 | 1 bro | 6 | Laundering, cleaning, and helping in farm work | Discontented from friends |
R20 | 1 | 8 | Laundering, cooking and farming | Joyless |
Respondent | Class Level | LBCs’ Feelings for Their Parents | COVID and LBCs’ Parental Guidance |
---|---|---|---|
R1 | 6 | Come back and stay with us | Stay at home and help grandparents |
R4 | 8 | It’s ok whether they are with me or not | Stay at home |
R7 | 6 | I do not want them anymore | Do not play around and focus on the study |
R19 | 7 | I know they are busy | Do not play around and focus on the study |
R5 | 6 | I wish I could have stayed with them like my friends | Keep washing your hands |
R10 | 6 | Come back and stay with me | Wear a mask and avoid friends and people |
R11 | 8 | It’s ok they are with me or not | Stay safe and help grandparents with housework |
Respondent | Grade | Weak in Subject | Online Classes Feedback |
---|---|---|---|
R2 | 8 | English and Mathematics | Uninteresting |
R4 | 7 | Mathematics | Tiresome |
R8 | 6 | Mathematics | Tiresome and unexciting |
R13 | 5 | English and Mathematics | Boring and complicated |
R15 | 4 | English | Very complicated |
R16 | 4 | English | Difficult to understand and unexciting |
R18 | 7 | I do not have any kind of trouble | Unexciting |
R20 | 7 | Good in my studies | Tiresome |
R22 | 8 | Mathematics | Tiresome |
Respondent | COVID and Grandparents’ Caretaking | Health Status of Grandparents | Reason LBCs Revealed for Parents Leaving |
---|---|---|---|
R9 | Grandma | Very old and cannot walk properly | Lower-income |
R18 | Myself | Old enough | Lower-income and family needs |
R5 | I rely more on my mother, and my father doesn’t care much about me | Sick and old | Lower-income |
R14 | No one cared for me | Very sick and old | Lower-income and family needs |
R16 | Grandma and dad | Very sick and old | Money for us |
R20 | Myself | Old enough, so I do household chores | Lower-income |
R22 | Myself | Grandma is blind, and grandpa is old | Lower-income |
Respondent | Age | Parents Migration Years | LBCs’ Feelings for Their Parents | Hopes from Parents |
---|---|---|---|---|
R4 | 14 | 7 years | My parents do not love me; they want to make money | Nothing I want from them |
R5 | 14 | 8 years | My mother loves me; my father doesn’t care much about me | I do not need anything |
R7 | 13 | 3 years | No-one loves me | Come back and live with us |
R14 | 10 | 5 years | I do not know | Come back and spend time with me |
R16 | 10 | 4 years | Grandma loves me | I do not need anything |
R20 | 14 | 8 years | No-one loves me | There is nothing I want |
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Tadesse, E.; Khalid, S.; Lianyu, C.; Gao, C. COVID-19 and Vulnerable Children Well-Being: Interview with Left-Behind Children in Rural China. Children 2022, 9, 1317. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9091317
Tadesse E, Khalid S, Lianyu C, Gao C. COVID-19 and Vulnerable Children Well-Being: Interview with Left-Behind Children in Rural China. Children. 2022; 9(9):1317. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9091317
Chicago/Turabian StyleTadesse, Endale, Sabika Khalid, Cai Lianyu, and Chunhai Gao. 2022. "COVID-19 and Vulnerable Children Well-Being: Interview with Left-Behind Children in Rural China" Children 9, no. 9: 1317. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9091317
APA StyleTadesse, E., Khalid, S., Lianyu, C., & Gao, C. (2022). COVID-19 and Vulnerable Children Well-Being: Interview with Left-Behind Children in Rural China. Children, 9(9), 1317. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9091317